Reviewing The Film Rush Hour English Literature Essay

Rush Hour acknowledges that within racial stereotyping, there is an constituted power hierarchy and while it attempts to overthrow the hierarchy, it later fails because it provides stereotyped misconceptions. ( I ‘m non certain if this sentence is acquiring excessively long ) In most buddy-cop movies, there is ever a character in control and a character who is merely the follower. In her article, “ ‘I ‘m Blackanese ‘ : Buddy-Cop Films, Rush Hour, and Asiatic American and African American Cross-racial Designation, ” Leilani Nishime observes that the white male character embodies an “ ideological chaperone ” who ensures that his buddy, normally a black male, behaves and complies to white criterions ( Nishime 49 ) . In Rush Hour, because both characters are minorities, it is perceived that they are peers and have the possibility of adhering over inequalities caused by the racial hierarchy. The two minorities are besides non portrayed as scoundrels but as the heroes. From the minute Lee lands in the United States, Carter presumes that he does non talk any English: “ Mr. Rice-a-Roni do n’t even talk American ” ( Rush Hour ) . This scene can besides be identified as a lampoon of stereotypes since Lee understands and speaks English but he may non understand the colloquialisms that Carter employs in which he normally slurs his words. Carter ‘s immediate premise of Lee ‘s deficiency of cognition of the English linguistic communication contends that there is a hierarchal relationship among minorities because Carter attempts to reify his ain belief that as an Asiatic adult male, Lee can non talk proper English. A sequence of penchants may emerge, so that some cultural minorities have a greater societal acceptableness than others. Nishime points to the bond that develops between Lee and Carter from their exclusion from the FBI probe. An FBI agent claims that they do non necessitate any aid from a low-status investigator or a “ Chung King bull ” ( Rush Hour ) . Sheng-mei Ma, in his “ Yellow Kung Fu and Black Jokes ” article, argues that this coupling is strictly for box office net income. Although minorities are starring in more mainstream movies, a racial hierarchy is still apparent due to race-based comedy act uponing a self-validation of racial features instead than a corruption of stereotypes.

Race appears to hold distinguishable boundaries in that certain cultural signifiers predominate over others and the movies obscure these boundaries through cultural exchange. Rush Hour eliminates the white male character and efforts to convey a convergence of civilizations to make a cross-racial individuality. During the movie, Lee begins singing the vocal “ War, ” and Carter immediately interrupts to learn Lee to breathe a “ psyche. ” A defeated Carter exclaims “ No 1 understands the words coming out of your oral cavity! ” ( Rush Hour ) . Lee, in response, performs elaborate soldierly humanistic disciplines moves, which Carter tries to copy. Nishime argues that the cultural exchange is through the organic structure, which bypasses linguistic communication so the connexion becomes equal. This exchange of civilizations transcends the distinguished stereotypes of the abilities of “ African Americans [ to ] dance and sing and Asians [ to ] make kung fu ” ( Nishime 53 ) . The scene begins as an effort to build a peculiar cultural individuality but develops into the likeliness of cross-racial designation. However, Carter justifies Lee ‘s mediocre vocalizing to an absence of “ psyche, ” which implies that that it is unconditioned for Lee to sing ill because it is non within his racial stereotype to sing good. Rush Hour 2, likewise, includes a scene where a Chinese adult male sings karaoke to a Michael Jackson vocal but Carter complains that he is “ destroying a authoritative ” and leaps on phase to make his ain rendering, complete with dance moves ( Rush Hour 2 ) . Lee and Carter can portion their civilization, but each can non hone the other ‘s accomplishment ; hence, the movies set up the being of racially defined differences. This blurs the differentiation between what is culturally learned and what is biological.

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Racial domains remain because races want to exhibit a cultural individualism and an attempt to equalise races erupts in struggle. In a saloon populated with inkinesss, Lee attempts to absorb into the environment by stating “ What ‘s up, my nigger? ” which Carter antecedently used as a salutation ( Rush Hour ) . Chaos erupts which proves that racial examination can use when minorities use racial names towards other minorities. A parallel state of affairs occurs at the Chinese eating house in Chinatown. There, Carter tries to speak his manner out of a job with the Chinese pack members by jestingly stating that he is “ Blackanese ” and that they are “ all the same ” ( Rush Hour ) . This remark of how everyone is “ all the same ” may germinate into credence of racial differences and supply the inquiring of racial tolerance ; nevertheless, these efforts all lead to force. For the audience, these scenes are merely amusing and have the ability to drive the secret plan frontward since Tucker ‘s extraordinary playing leads the brace to another battle scene where Chan is able to show his complexly choreographed soldierly humanistic disciplines moves. This suggests that there is no opportunity of racial bonding if every effort leads to misinterpretations. Ji Hoon Park, in his sociology survey, “ Naturalizing Racial Differences Through Comedy: Asiatic, Black, and White Views on Racial Stereotypes in Rush Hour 2, ” supports this statement by observing that the race of the individual stating the gag determines whether or non the gag is deemed as racialist. Within the context of comedy, racial wit can potentially be racialist because white characters have a historical stigma of being an oppressor and many may experience his purposes were to be sponsoring.

Stereotypes are embedded into the scenes and duologue of the movies and are a important constituent to keeping racial societal order with minorities. Lee portrays the racial typecast of an Asiatic adult male who is viewed as a puritan and excels in kung fu. Carter, in contrast, has the inclination of happening and doing problem, which makes this “ uneven twosome ” more entertaining ( Ma 243 ) . Carter depicts the usual over sexualized black male. In Rush Hour 2, Lee takes him to a massage parlour and while Lee chooses one miss, Carter chooses five. Carter repeatedly encourages the negative stereotypes associated with inkinesss with his “ loud-mouthed manner ” of nearing a job ( Park 163 ) . He tells a Chinese adult female who sells poulet that he likes his lily-livered “ dead and deep fried, ” insinuating that black work forces inherently like fried poulet ( Rush Hour 2 ) . This technique of a self-mocking of one ‘s stereotypes can be used to notice on racial inequalities for the comedy promotes it as humourous and counters feelings of edginess. Yet, the racial portraitures finally do non denounce the common representations of Asians and inkinesss in the media. Blatant stereotypes are so deemed acceptable because comedy creates a sense of “ harmlessness [ in ] interpersonal gags ” ( Park 160 ) . The racial stereotypes are non ever inverted. Both Carter and Lee use racial comments toward each other, such as when Carter says that Lee belongs in the Ming Dynasty and Lee says that he will “ bitchslap [ Carter ] back to Africa ” ( Rush Hour 2 ) . Yet, neither appears offended and are friends who enjoy each other ‘s company. This crossing of colour lines with racial gags leads to an reading of race-based wit being portion of the norm. Park ‘s decision is that racial stereotypes are debatable because “ pragmatism in the media encourages viewing audiences to integrate on-screen attitudes and beliefs into the existent universe ” ( Park 172 ) . Therefore, there is no possible changing of the racial hierarchy for minorities continue to populate negative stereotypes and by conforming, they themselves propel the stereotypes.

The last stereotype mentioned is the “ rich white adult male ” . In Rush Hour, a white male literally attempts to prehend Chinese civilization for Juntao, who turns out to be the British embassador, enterprises to steal Chinese artefacts. In Rush Hour 2, Carter voices his theory of probe which is to follow the “ rich white adult male ” because behind any operation, “ there ‘s a rich white adult male waiting for his cut ” ( Rush Hour 2 ) . The white adult male Carter refers to is Steven Reign, a billionaire hotel proprietor. Although, he occupies a little function in the movie but his function has some significance because he has an “ overseeing place ” of money laundering ( Park 164 ) . Likewise, in Rush Hour, the FBI, “ an about wholly white operation, ” takes full duty of the snatch instance, bring forthing no alteration to the position quo of white domination and white privilege ( Nishime 51 ) . Park ‘s treatment of mainstream racial images closely parallels Nishime ‘s statement: Chan and Tucker play characters that are “ symbolically castrated work forces ” and later, do non dispute white maleness ( Park 163 ) . Chan ‘s character being emasculated can be seen as a deliberate determination to reenforce the Whites ‘ place at the top of the hierarchy and doing Lee to be an about nonthreatening offense combatant. The white characters are farther confirmed as clear-minded persons who are able to carry through anything, even illegal activities.

Although, racial portraitures often promote cogency of differences, they can besides be construed as instruments of interrupting racial myths. Carter ‘s black source owns a Chinese eating house in Crenshaw, a predominately black vicinity, dresses in traditional Chinese garments and is skilled in kung fu. This reflects the beginning of the outgrowth between “ xanthous kung fu and black gags ” ( Ma 240 ) . In his survey of the history between the partnership between Asians and inkinesss, Ma utilizes the film The Last Dragon, for the black character “ bows, meditates, and wears the stereotyped Chinese frock ” while the Asiatic Americans “ take on a black idiom and organic structure beat ” ( 240 ) . Rather than rendering “ xanthous yellower and black blacker, ” the exchange creates a possibility of racial hybridity. This distinction from the audience ‘s preconceived impressions of a “ normal ” black adult male both challenge the viewing audiences ‘ beliefs and portray the blending of two different civilizations. In Rush Hour 2, nevertheless, Carter laughs at his source and calls him an embarrassment for being a black adult male in Crenshaw who owns a Chinese eating house. In this manner, Carter is “ othering ” his source, meaning that any type of idiosyncrasy that deviates from the norm is considered incorrect. This is an case when racial boundaries were transcended, but it dictates that each race has an “ appropriate ” civilization it should claim.

Many people can claim to be colorblind or antiracist, but race continues to function as an of import marker with which people understand their societal environment. The Rush Hour movies provide for an chance to look beyond the dominant political orientations of Whites, Asians, and inkinesss. However, Rush Hour is non wholly successful in dismissing racial features. By impeling stereotypes, the movies influence the audience to non merely happen the movies humourous but besides hunt for the “ true ” constituents of racial stereotypes instead than disputing the overdone word pictures. By using comedy, the movies ‘ extremist qualities of perchance exceeding racial boundaries are unfulfilled, for one time racial differences are conceived as existent and unchangeable, it creates a justification for keeping the long-standing racial hierarchy.

Culture can be exchanged but the boundaries of a state can non be easy permeated by an “ foreigner ” . These markers of a state besides include linguistic communication. [ I plan on explicating how holding an speech pattern Markss you as person different and so helps to set up specific character categorizations. I will besides discourse intersections of nationality and race. ]

Gender individuality originates from the experiences of our lives and these experiences differ non merely based on gender but besides by factors such as race and category. These individualities are formed under the narrow constructions of stereotypes, which are created as a system of societal control. [ I plan on analysing Latina characters from the Rush Hour movies. In Rush Hour, Carter makes a remark about his Latina spouse remaining at the office and working behind the desk because it is safer than trailing down felons. In Rush Hour 2, an clandestine Puerto Rican Secret Service agent is sexualized and she continuously uses her sexual entreaty to arouse cooperation from Lee and Carter. My decision will be that it is non possible to divide gendered experiences from racial being and that one can be discriminated by both race and gender. ]